The efficiency of an archery bow is measured by the percent of energy stored in the bow when it is fully drawn that is transferred to the arrow at the time the arrow is released. Archery bow manufacturers are constantly striving to improve the efficiency of a bow so that the maximum possible energy is imparted to the arrow. In spite of many improvements over the years, there are many shortcomings of prior efforts to improve bow efficiency. All of the energy not transferred to the arrow from the bow when the arrow is released is transferred back to the bow, typically in the form of vibrations.
Bow vibrations have several drawbacks. First, the existence of vibration equates to some degree of bow inefficiency. The greater the vibrations, the less efficient the bow. Vibrations also cause noises which are highly undesirable for archery hunters. Since the speed of sound travels much faster than an arrow being launched from a bow, many animals will move upon hearing the sound of an archery bow and either dodge the arrow completely, or potentially move so that a non-lethal shot is achieved. Neither of these situations is desirable for the archery hunter.
Another drawback to bow vibrations is that it will reduce the accuracy of the archer. Vibrations tend to make the archery bow more difficult to grasp and hold, and shorten archery practice sessions.
Many attempts have been made to quiet archery bows. String silencers in the form of rubber or yarn strands are commonly attached to bow strings and cables of archery bows. In addition, a wide range of cable guards and cable guard sliders have been developed to reduce bow noise. Nevertheless, these efforts have prevented only some of the noise from the archery bows. There remains a need, therefore, to develop improved ways to damp the vibrations of an archery bow to reduce noise and increase accuracy for the archer.